


let's get down to business

by 26stars



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Gen, Quakerider Writer's Guild 'Firsts' Event, S.O. Melinda May, Season 1-2 interim era, Training, i'm just really excited about the new Mulan movie ok?, mysterious as the dark side of the moon, rookie skye, swift as a raging fire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2021-02-21 11:34:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22560265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/26stars/pseuds/26stars
Summary: For the Quakerider Writer's Guild Prompt: 'First Hate Fu lesson'Yep, that's it.
Relationships: Melinda May & Skye | Daisy Johnson
Comments: 16
Kudos: 63
Collections: QuakeriderValentine'sDay





	let's get down to business

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Killjoys4life](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Killjoys4life/gifts).



> Thanks Killjoys4life for your sweet support lately. Please enjoy!

Today is not their first training session together, but it’s still early enough in the game that they haven’t established a solid routine yet. May, thankfully, has so far not told Skye to be up at five, but every morning she’s knocked on Skye’s door a little bit earlier. Skye is still pulling on her shoes on when May knocks at 6:45 this morning, but she hops quickly to the door to open it.

“Ready?” May asks expectantly from the other side, not waiting for an answer as she heads off down the hall. Skye snatches an elastic off her dresser and hurries after her, letting her bunk’s door swing shut behind her as she shoves her hair into a ponytail while hustling after May.

She catches up to her in the kitchen where they both eat a silent breakfast of a banana and half an energy bar each. Skye glances wistfully at the coffeepot, but she’s already getting used to going without it—May has worn her out so well every day that each night she’s fallen asleep almost as soon as her head hits the pillow, sleeping soundly until the next morning’s knock.

In the training room, they set their water bottles out of the way and move to the mats for stretches. Skye isn’t really trying to match May’s flexibility—like pretty much everything they do together, Skye is always having to remind herself that May has twenty-plus years’ experience on her and Skye certainly won’t catch up overnight. After they’ve worked quietly through the routine to loosen up, Skye waits for her cue to follow May out on a jog around the hanger as a warm up, like they did yesterday. Today, however, May stays in one place and turns to face Skye directly.

“Okay. New lesson today. First, do what I do.”

May closes her eyes and doesn’t do anything for a moment, but then Skye realizes she’s waiting for Skye to sync up their breathing. Once she hears her do this, May starts raising and lowering her arms in time with her breathing, which goes on for what feels like a long time. Skye is perplexed, waiting for May to explain herself, but then May pivots toward the mirror that runs along one part of the gym wall, opening her eyes.

“Did you ever watch _Avatar: the Last Airbender_?”

Because this is not a sentence Skye ever expected to hear May say, she just stares dumbly at her in the mirror for a moment.

“Yes or no?” May says, catching Skye’s eye and snapping her out of her stupor.

“Um, yeah. Not much of it, but maybe half a season?”

May nods once. “Okay. Well, the water-bending you saw in that series is actually based on tai chi.”

Realizing suddenly where this is going, Skye sees her own face light up in the mirror.

“Oh my god, are we about to start hate fu lessons?”

“Tai chi,” May repeats patiently, shifting her feet out to a wide stance. “Now, do what I do.”

“Everything about tai chi is smooth and solid,” May explains as she leads Skye through some extremely simple movements—rocking back and forth on her feet, stepping forward and backwards on angles—while Skye follows along as best she can. “This isn’t yoga—it’s not all about flexibility and emptying your mind—it’s about being extremely aware of everything inside you and the space around you. Pull on the inhale, push on the exhale…”

Skye keeps her eyes trained on May in the mirror, feeling herself settling into the rhythm.

“Everything you do needs to be anchored and stable. You don’t lean past your feet at any point—that moves you off natural balance and, in a fight, makes at least some part of you vulnerable.”

Skye imitates her movements, adjusting her posture when May corrects her, refocusing on her breath every time May recalls her attention to it.

 _This is why she’s so good in fights,_ Skye realizes as they move, now adding slow arm movements to their motions. _She’s always conscious of where they are and how she can share the space safely…_

“Okay, that's all for today,” May eventually says, dropping her posture and shifting back towards the door. “Let’s go. Laps.”

Almost startled, Skye turns towards her with a pout. “Oh come on, I was so ready for some intense hate fu ninja knowhow!”

“One day at a time. Let’s go, kid.”

May takes off without her, heading for the hangar, and Skye sighs before jogging after her.

Later on in the morning, after conditioning and other combat drills, May leads her back to the mats for their usual practice run of whatever they’ve focused on that day.

“One way tai chi is helpful in a fight,” May says, making Skye’s ears perk up, “is you’ll get better at holding your ground and monitoring your position around another person.”

 _Called it_ , Skye smirks to herself.

May sets her feet, then gestures to Skye. “Circle around me, mix it up a little. Watch how my feet move in response to you.”

Skye hops and shuffles around her for a few seconds, noting the way May is constantly shifting her position with a somewhat wide stance, moving at an angle to keep Skye in front of her. Her weight always stays centered solidly, no wobbling or stumbling whatsoever.

“Fights on the field aren’t like boxing with its hopping and shuffling and defined boundaries on the floor,” May says when she signals for Skye to stop. “Keep your feet anchored and that’s your first advantage over big guys who are used to their height and weight doing half the job.”

May then raises her hands in half-hearted fists.

“Try to hit me. Slowly. Just watch how I’m moving in response to your actions.”

Skye steps forward with a right jab in slow motion, and May surprises her by sliding closer at an angle, her nearest hand slipping over Skye’s ribs in a light tap.

“Again.”

At May’s prompting, Skye tests out all the moves she knows, clumsy as they still are, especially when slowed down. Every time, May dodges the blow with a deliberate move and sometimes moves into Skye’s space with a complementary step, bringing her close enough to strike a vulnerable part of Skye’s body.

“Okay, your turn now,” May eventually says, shifting back. “I’ll walk you through the basics, but this is something you’re going to develop an instinct for over time. Now, if someone’s coming at you with a right hook…”

Almost an hour later, Skye is as exhausted as ever after a training session but still smiles when May calls it a day.

“How long does it take for someone to become a hate fu master?” she says, grinning as she follows May out of the gym to the kitchen for a belated breakfast.

“One day at a time, Grasshopper,” May says, smirking briefly in her direction.


End file.
